This invention relates to a prepackaged liner and litter assembly for pet litter boxes.
Animal litter boxes are typically relatively shallow pans into which litter is placed. The boxes may be reusable or disposable as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,441,451 and 4,646,685 and British patent No. 1,023,162. It is also known to provide disposable liners for the boxes as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,227,137 and 4,279,217.
Typically, litter is placed in bags and transferred such as by pouring from the bag to the litter box. When the litter becomes soiled and needs replacing, and where a liner is used, the liner containing the soiled litter is removed and discarded and a new liner and fresh litter are then placed in the box.
Disposable boxes and liners are convenient in that they reduce the need to clean the box but still require that a quantity of litter be transferred to the box from a bulk supply. Also, the liners and litter are supplied separately which is inconvenient and requires that a separate supply of these items be maintained. The present invention overcomes these inconveniences.
In accordance with the present invention there is provided a prepackaged liner and litter assembly generally comprising a plurality of liner and litter units contained within a single bag with each having a liner containing a quantity of litter. Each liner has a hem about its periphery with a drawstring therein to close the liner. As packaged within the bag the liners are in a closed pouch configuration in a generally upright position and stacked with one on top of the other. In their open configurations the liners are large enough to cover the interior of a litter box while also having an outer portion that extends over the sides to fully protect the interior of the box from soiled litter and prevent litter from locating between the liner and box. A sufficient quantity of litter is contained in each prepackaged liner to spread over the bottom of the lined box. The liners preferrably are made of plastic and provide a moisture barrier between the litter and box.
To use the assembly of the present invention the top liner and litter unit is removed from the bag by grasping the drawstring. As the unit is lifted from the bag the weight of the litter within the liner causes the liner to assume a pouch shape. When the pouch is placed in the litter box, the litter spreads somewhat under its own weight which flattens the bottom of the pouch to at least partially spread the liner over the bottom of the box. Then the top of the liner is opened and the liner arranged to extend over the entire bottom with the outer portions of the liner extending over the sides of the box. The litter is then further spread generally evenly over the bottom. To discard soiled litter, the liner is closed with the drawstring to its pouch configuration trapping the soiled litter therein. The pouch may be carried by the drawstring for discarding.
Hence, the present invention eliminates the inconvenience of purchasing and maintaining a supply of separate litter and liners, and eliminates the need to transfer litter from a bulk supply to the litter box and the mess and inconvenience associated therewith.
These and other advantages of the invention are apparent from the detailed description to follow.